THE HANGMAN'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER

One of the names oft forgotten when remembering the original psychedelic era, The Incredible String Band was one of the first psych bands, and they plumbed through an almost purely folk sound that they left drenched in psychedelia, hippie mores, and light elements of what we now call prog. This sound was rather simple, sparse, and seemingly out of place when comparing to the main run of psych bands that embarked through rock. There was a whole folk/country side to the hippie scene, however, and ISB, for two glorious albums, rode that side to an artistic zenith and a good share of popularity. The second of those is this masterwork, where this sparse sound is beautiful, warm, intelligent, and at times delightfully unique and complex. All sorts of instruments - guitar, sitar, singing saw, pipes and whistles, a Hammond - are used and mixed. This is a journey through all four corners of the acoustic side of psych, and a well steered one at that. There's just something about allowing oneself to enter into the light and welcoming music ISB had to offer that even many folk bands forget about, then and now. Perhaps too minimalistic for some - and not by intention - but this is wonderful and enjoyable work.